Join us on Thursday 12th July to experience the first event that is part of the Broadcaster’s A Year of Nostalgia curated by Sally Plowman. Coinciding with Nia Fekri’s exhibition in the Broadcaster noticeboards, herself and Bea Macdonald will host an evening at the Wellingore Chapel. An evening spent with liminal traces of places, persons and fantasy in memory through writing and storytelling. The evening will consist of a walk with sound/song, a video installation, a performative reading by the artists and a meal.

Bernard Leibov, curator/artist, and John Plowman are collaborating on a project that explores the dynamic of the collaborative process. Their aim is to establish a framework for the collaboration where the focus will be on studio production that explores a sense of place. They will engage in a process to interrogate and better understand their respective positions of artist and curator. Key to the collaboration will be their experiences, of making, curating, presenting contemporary art and engaging with audiences in non-gallery spaces outside of an urban context. There will be a public facing event at the end of the project on 3 February 2018.

SUPPORTIVE

John Plowman has just started working with artists Mark Dunhill and Tamiko O’Brien, who as Dunhill-O’Brien, have been working collaboratively since 1998. Over the next 12 months he will be supporting them on the development of new projects, more details will be shared over the coming months. Their website is currently being updated and will be back online at the end of January: http://www.dunhillandobrien.co.uk

If you are interested in Beacon Bureau’s Supportive opportunity click here:

Are you looking for sustained support to achieve your artistic ambitions?ADVICE – establish a critical dialogue with each artist or artist led group.ASSISTANCE – available for face to face, skype, phone and e-mail contact.ADVOCACY- prioritising the interests of the artist or artist led group.

Beacon Bureau can offer significant bespoke advice, assistance and advocacy to selected artists and artist led groups. This service is offered to artists on a twelve monthly retainer basis payable monthly or annually at a discounted rate.Beacon Bureau is interested in working with artists and groups who have a coherent and definable art practice and who would benefit from the extensive experience of John Plowman https://beaconbureau.co.uk/supportive/john-plowman/To express an interest/more information please contact John Plowman: beaconbureau@gmail.com

This funding has also allowed John Plowman to work with Mark Segal of The Artist Agency https://www.theartistsagency.co.uk to develop and establish a workable framework for Beacon Bureau in which his skills, knowledge and experience can be utilised by being:

PROACTIVE - To actively seek out and provide opportunities for John Plowman to collaborate with others whose interests are congruent with his own.

SPECULATIVE – To engage in speculative creative activity to ensure pertinent projects are under development.

SUPPORTIVE - To offer advice and support to artists and small arts organisations develop and achieve their artistic ambitions.

CONCRETE+CLAY is a curatorial collaboration between Roaming Room and Beacon Bureau. Their respective locations Roaming Room (urban) and Beacon Bureau (rural) find commonality in the fact that, as raw materials, CONCRETE+CLAY are both extracted from the ground upon which we walk, live and build. This affinity makes these two materials suitable but unlikely bedfellows. Their plasticity comes to mind; their stability reliant on fire and water; fire rendering clay into a more permanent state whilst water (the antidote to fire) binds together the constituents of concrete giving it its strength. CONCRETE+CLAY, extracted from the ground and destined to return if not now but some time in the indeterminable future. Waiting to be unearthed by archaeologists and geologists who will pass judgment on our current geological epoch, the Anthroposcene.

CONCRETE+CLAY is an exhibition of sculpture, installation, drawing and film creating tangential connections between concrete and clay, geography and archaeology, past and present, real and imagined. Taking you on a journey from extant WW2 pillboxes in rural locations through the experience of walking in the urban landscape to the demolition of high-rise tower blocks.

Beacon Bureau a framework for visual art projects led by John Plowman, either as independent ventures or as collaborations with others. https://beaconbureau.co.uk/

Beacon Bureau has been awarded Arts Council Grants for the Arts funding to further its development and to produce its first project, ‘Concrete+Clay’, 6-29 April, a collaboration with Roaming Room, London. If you would like to receive information about this and other projects please subscribe here:

*EM15 is a collective of arts organisations from the East Midlands comprising New Art Exchange, QUAD, One Thoresby Street and Beacon Art Project with support from Nottingham Trent University and The University of Nottingham.

Also a gentle reminder that B.generous is continuing to raise funds for our programme of work and to ensure the sustainability of Beacon in the longer term. Your generosity will enable us to continue to curate, create and connect spaces for art, artists and audiences. PleaseB.generous: http://beaconartproject.org/support/

Join Marc Renshaw on Saturday the 12th March for a drop-in event at The Collection in Lincoln where he'll be sharing extracts and reflections from his research for the Europarc project. There will also be corporate refreshments available throughout the day.

The Contemporary Visual Arts Network for the East Midlands is holding its annual coming together for artists and arts organisations. Join us for an afternoon of discussion around making it happen. Emily Pethick, Director of The Showroom, London in conversation with Janna Graham, Head of Public Programmes and Research at Nottingham Contemporary will set the context for the event which will also feature contributions from members of the network. For those who have not yet visited this is taking place at Attenborough Arts, there will be an opportunity to see Lucy & Jorge Orta's exhibition. Lunch will be included and after the event we will take a stroll through the city to the Phoenix via Leicester Print Workshop. To book:https://goo.gl/j9UGfA

BEACON. Curious about art

Since 2004 we have commissioned context specific artworks from over seventy artists providing opportunities for people to experience contemporary visual art in non-gallery spaces, usually heritage sites. We have worked regionally, nationally and internationally with audience engagement at the forefront of our mission.